


Deal with the Fey

by rhythmickorbit



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, D&D, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Fae!Belarus, Fairies, Falling In Love, Feywild, Healing, I have no self control, Just to warn you, Magic, Mild Gore, Overprotective Siblings, Spells & Enchantments, Warlock!Liechtenstein, Warlocks, badass liechtenstein, cursing, liech has a potty mouth oops, pact, she kicks some ass y'all, some descriptions of gore, unearthly powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-02-27 08:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18735313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhythmickorbit/pseuds/rhythmickorbit
Summary: Erika, desperate to save her brother from a deadly wound, dives head-first into a pact with the mysterious Pinewood Fey. Of course, though, entering a pact with such an otherworldly being will always have a price- one that involves Erika being roped into a hastily constructed plot of revenge.





	1. Chapter 1

                The air was frigid, uninviting. The cold was an old cantankerous woman trying to desperately push people away from her dilapidated cabin—lest they interrupt her solitude for all of eternity. Her cold, bony fingers pinched at the nose and cheeks, pulled and grasped at the fingers in an attempt to tear them off. Winter was cruel in that way and seemed to shove Erika away from her destination.

                Or, rather, where she hoped her destination was. The thought of being lost in these thick pinewoods made her shiver. There was nothing concrete to go off about her destination—only half-remembered tales and songs hummed at children to warn them against staying up too late. Erika tugged her thin shawl tighter around her shoulders and pressed onward. Determination was but an ember in her stomach, but it fueled Erika’s advances through the snow. Goosebumps pricked the surface of her arms and legs as she ducked underneath of a particularly bushy pine.

                Erika would save her brother.

                He had a wound—raw, angry tooth-marks. The wound of a direwolf’s maw, teeth flashing yellow-white in the early-morning sun as Basch tried to chase the beast away from their homestead. Now, he lay under bloodstained sheets in a feverish haze, unaware that Erika, against his wishes, had ventured out of the house to seek help. There was no village healer—Erika was the closest thing to one. There were no herbs, as necessity and rot had taken much of Erika’s stores throughout the winter. Without help, Erika feared, Basch’s wound would turn yellow and rotten with infection.

                Basch would never approve of Erika’s current efforts. Despite that, she knew that he would do the same for her had she fallen ill. Erika pushed the mental picture of Basch’s terrified face. Fever, the ever-percieved enemy, had given Erika her one advantage of time. In a few hours, Erika knew, Basch would wake up, and, despite his wound, would wander out into the blizzard to search for her. Time was of the essence.

                Erika planned to make a deal with The Pinewood Fey, something that every elder and child abhorred and rejected. The tales warned about being in the woods at midnight, implored all souls desperate enough to look that no favor could be worth the price required to pay.

                To say that Erika was willing to pay the price would be an underestimation. She would die for Basch if she had to, although she didn’t trust her brother not to take his own life in order to join her. Besides, the Fey never asked for something as simple as a human life. Erika took a shuddering breath as she staggered between the trees. Basch was all she had for a family, and her only true friend. Her teeth chattered, her body’s successive rhythm that pleaded for warmth. The thought of her suffering brother was fuel for her rapidly weakening body. She slogged through the snow, and hoped futilely that there would be some sign of the Fey soon. Two, three, maybe one thousand painful minutes passed.

                Then, Erika saw that inviting orange glow amid a clearing. Her eyes widened as she took it in with wonder, observing the thousands of beautiful gems embedded into insides. Each stone had a small spark of light at its center. Despite the freezing air, there grew small pockets of green between the stepping-stones leading up to the hut. Ivy, vibrant and lively danced among the space between each gemstone. Flickering firelight shone from the round windows, promising respite from the cold. Erika’s stiff fingers ached to be in the warmth, but nonetheless Erika hesitated at the door.

                When she raised her hand, about to knock, the door immediately opened. A girl, maybe a year or two older than Erika stood in the doorway. Long, platinum blond hair cascaded down the girl’s shoulders, and pale blue eyes scrutinized Erika like a hawk. Although she looked normal in every other respect, the girl’s pointed ears and the intricate markings around her eyes betrayed the girl’s true nature.

                Erika withheld a gasp, not wanting to offend the Fey. She was even more beautiful than she was described to be in the tales. Erika grasped her skirts nervously, desperately trying to keep from shaking. She had to steel herself; Basch was counting on her.

                Before she could speak, the Fey’s melodic, though toneless voice pierced the winter air.

                “It’s awfully cold outside.”

                Erika blinked, and stared at the Fey incredulously. _No shit._

                “And,” the Fey continued. “You’re awfully young to be seeking me out.” The Fey studied her for one moment more and proceeded to step aside in the doorway. “Come and warm your frozen bones.”

                Erika stepped shakily inside. The door shut on its own behind her. Almost immediately, Erika’s extremities tingled with feeling, as they should. She flexed her fingers and winced slightly; all too aware of how stiff they felt. The Fey observed her from a slight distance away, and Erika could swear that she felt mild interest radiating off of the girl.

                The room was centered around a fire pit in its center, with three cushions of varying sizes crowded around the pit’s front. Above was a chimney that ascended to the roof, and, by extension, outside. Bookshelves lined the walls, books only filling about half of the space there. The remaining spaces were packed with oddly shaped bottles and the same sorts of gems that there were outside.

                “Sit,” the Fey nodded at a cushion. Erika complied, not daring to disobey such a being of power-- a being that looked, well, very vulnerable in comparison to how many of the tales described. Erika shook away such thoughts, which gathered like the snow did on her shawl. She mustn’t waver now.

                “Why are you here?” The Fey sat beside Erika, her intense gaze mild with curiosity. Erika swallowed.

                “My… My brother is really injured. If he doesn’t get help…” her voice shook, and she picked at the fabric of her skirt. “I need… I need something to help him. Anything. And I’ll give anything if you can help save him.” Erika pressed her lips tightly together. “I… I have a few coins here. My life’s savings. You can…”

                The Fey waved her hand dismissively. “I don’t need mortal coin,” she rasped. “I don’t need any more mortal souls, either.” She gestured at the gems adorning the shelves. Erika swallowed again; eyes fixed on the lights inside of each one.

                “So…”

                “Yes, girl, I’ll help your brother. You just have to do something for me in return.” The Fey’s eyes gleamed slightly. Erika felt like shrinking in their presence.

                “Um. Yes! I’ll do anything. Just tell me what I need to do,” she implored, flushing under the Fey’s gaze. _Now is not the time or place for blushing, Erika,_ she scolded herself.

                “Make a pact with me,” the Fey urged. “Become my hand of vengeance on the world, and I can save your brother. I can grant you power, and so much more.” She leaned toward Erika, a smile now on the Fey’s face for the first time. “You would become a warlock.”

                Erika gaped. When she pictured such a negotiation, she had thought of treasure, of perhaps stealing a pouch of gold or selling her own soul.To travel the world for this fairy… Erika couldn’t imagine leaving the homestead behind.

                The hesitation faltered when Erika pictured her brother, bleeding on the sheets at home. With a deep breath, Erika nodded curtly, determinedly. “I will make a pact with you.”

                The Fey held out one hand. “What is your name, human?”

                Erika shook the Fey’s hand firmly. She shook it with finality. “My name is Erika.”

                Sparks began shooting through Erika’s body, energy that was both unfamiliar and thrilling. A whimper escaped from her mouth as scalding sensations snaked up and down her body. Heat blazed from behind her eyes, but she couldn’t close them. She could only stare into the Fey’s unknowable gaze, unnamed and unnatural. Erika’s body shook, and her mind screamed with agony as it began to shut down.

                “My name is Natalya,” the Fey whispered in Erika’s ear just before Erika passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL.  
> Initially this was meant to be a one-shot. However, life never likes to make things simple for me, and it appears that this story has evolved into a multi-tentacled being that will encompass several chapters-- never mind that I have Axes Crossed to work on. Sigh. At least I will get to spend time with my favorite girls ever. I love BelaLiech so much.  
> Also the chapters may be a bit less,, long than Axes Crossed. It's just a different type of story, I suppose.  
> This story will proooobably focus a bit less on worldbuilding but of course, I hate myself, so I'll probably end up doing a bunch anyway. Also, it is not related in the slightest to my other D&D fics, but the warlock rules apply here basically in the same way as they do in the D&D universe.  
> Characters!  
> Erika- Liechtenstein. A girl who has spent her whole life living quietly on a farm with her brother.  
> Basch- Switzerland. Erika's older brother, who is both trigger happy and over-protective.  
> Natalya- Belarus. Known as the Pinewood Fey. A mysterious and powerful being with her own scores to settle.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erika wrestles with her newfound power. Basch is horrified at what she's done.

Silver light met Erika as she emerged back into consciousness, bleary-eyed and aching. She sat up slowly from where she lay, realizing with a jolt that she had been sleeping in the snow. Had she passed out on her journey?

The events from the night before came crashing down like an avalanche, and Erika wondered what exactly she had agreed to.

She wasn’t shivering. Something coursed along the surface of Erika’s skin, warm and electrifying all at the same time. Erika took a deep breath and stood. She stared at the imprint of where her body had been in the snow. That hadn’t changed, to be certain, but Erika felt something stir on the far fringes of her gut—it was a warmth in her belly, a spark that begged to be let loose.

On the other hand, no, not a spark. A conflagration. Erika’s legs shook, though she was no longer and doubted that she could be cold. She squeezed her eyes shut, opened them again, and began to trudge through the endless deep snow. Hopefully, Basch hadn’t left the house when she left.

And, Erika found, he hadn’t. Once she managed the trek through the woods—an easier endeavor in the light of day—she noted that the snow on the path leading to the front door was fresh, untrodden-- nary a sign of a frantic brother to be seen. It occurred to Erika that she hadn't the foggiest idea of _how_ she was to heal Basch, and that unknown was a chilly fear to swallow.

The front door took some force to open, the large wooden slab sealed shut by ice and snow. Erika grit her teeth and shoved it, causing a loud  _ crack  _ to resound through the clearing and, Erika was sure, through the house as well. Erika heard their beloved sheep bleating in surprise from afar. She reminded herself to feed them later.

Carefully, Erika shut the door behind herself. The hall was eerily silent, save for the quiet sounds of rasped breathing from down the hall. She gulped and shrugged off her thin shawl. The cabin was almost freezing, and devoid of the crackling of the fireplace. For Basch to not have the energy to even start a fire was certainly a negative sign.

Erika rushed toward Basch’s room, uncaring of the floorboards’ protests. She almost fell as she rounded the corner, eyes widened when she saw how pale he was. Erika jerked the curtains open, wintery sunlight beaming with an undue cheer. This was enough to make Basch stir.

“Erika…?” gray-green eyes met her own identical pair as Basch stared at her with a bleary disbelief. “It’s early yet… could you go feed the sheep?” His voice was crackly with pain and tiredness, their presences making Erika’s heart ache. Erika shook her head.

“No, no, Basch,” Erika soothed, pulling the sheets away from him. He grunted in protest. “No, I found a way to help your wound.”

Basch scowled in irritation, and then in pain as Erika began to undo the bindings around his still bleeding wound. It now occurred to Erika that she wasn’t consciously sure of how the Fey’s power was supposed to work—her hands seemed to simply move on their own as she  peeled back the final, bloody cloth. “You didn’t spend too much on it, right?” 

_ Depends on what your definition of “too much is”,  _ Erika thought grimly, but shook her head. She grimaced when the rancid smell of infection wormed its way into her nostrils. She wasn’t too late, but she would have to act quickly.

Or whatever she had to do. How did magic work? Erika never even learned how to use magic through study—her brother frowned upon its use for the most part, with the opinion that it was simply a shortcut for hard work.

Erika set her jaw as the magic in her gut seemed to surge in reaction to the wound. She held one hand out—that was what you were supposed to do, right?—and gently placed it on top of the wound. Basch cried out as Erika’s hand touched the tender, exposed flesh and stared at her in disbelief.

“Erika, what the hell are you…” his voice died away as a bright green glow seemed to seep out of the grooves in Erika’s hand. Her own eyes widened as she felt the flow of energy inside of her expand and grow, a pipe tapping into a bottomless well. Her breath hitched as she literally felt her brother’s skin knit back together beneath her hand, felt her flesh absorb the sickness festering within his blood and proceed to eradicate it. Her veins sang with this power, this  _ gift  _ that she had received. The feeling was nigh euphoric. 

Erika was jerked down from her high when Basch grasped her wrist with a tight desperation. She stared at him incredulously as he looked her in the eyes, his gaze horrified at something he saw within them.

“You made a Pact, didn’t you,” his whisper was raw with horror. Erika’s e yes rounded with guilt.

“ It was for a good reason,  Basch, you were going to—“

“ _ Erika,”  _ Basch’s voice was harsher than he had ever spoken to her before. “I would have rather died than have you do this! What the hell were you thinking, making a deal like that?”

Erika grit her teeth, the fire seeming to rise in excitement within her stomach. It begged her to be used. “I don’t owe her my soul, or anything, I promise.” She curled her fingers into a fist and jerked her hand away from Basch’s grasp .  She c ould not let Basch see  her hands shake so.

Basch’s eyebrows knit together with concern as he looked at Erika and sighed heavily. The anger escaped out of him, like cold water hissing on red-hot stones. “What did you trade?” he asked wearily, and Erika recognized a long-suppressed pain in his eyes. She bit her lip.

“To be the Fey’s ‘hand of vengeance’, or something like that,” Erika admitted. The Fey’s words seemed much more ominous in the cold and hollow silence of Basch’s room. 

“It’s never good to get caught up in the petty conflicts of those creatures,” Basch muttered. “You have to remember Erika, they aren’t human. They can just as easily crush you as they would assist you.” He put a hand on her shoulder, his body shivering from a lack of food in these past few days. Erika made a mental note to make him stew later. Basch grew silent, his gaze misty with half-remembered pain. He gave a strained side-smile and jerked his hand away as if Erika’s touch burned him. The very sight of such an action from Basch made Erika’s stomach churn. Had she changed that much?

Erika tightened her jaw. She choked down the barbed words that she wanted to retort at him--  retorts that expressed that  she  had known  perfectly well what she had been getting into. However, Basch’s expression was not worth arguing with. He thought that she was going to die, and soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it is I! This was already written so I figured I would just post it when I got the time lmao. I have some fic exchanges to write too so expect those soon!! I'm really excited to work on them :P
> 
> Sorry for being deeeead the AP exams have been murdering me with their bare hands ahaha. I'm going to update Axes Crossed soon too!! I just had this prewritten so I had something to post :)


	3. Chapter 3

Something had begun to tug at Erika’s consciousness. This had been happening for one week, and Erika had shoved it down, like sh e sometimes choked down the too- tough cuts of mutton that Basch insisted she consume.

A fter  Basch had healed,  life, for the most part, returned to normal. 

The key phrase being “for the most part”.

There was a constant pricking on the fringes of Erika’s mind. She had always classified herself as a pragmatic person, focused on the here and now. However, recently it had become increasingly difficult to immerse herself in the monotony of farm work. Erika could still feel that energy coursing through her veins, begging her to use it, to let it transform and flow. She felt its waves undulating and shifting with every change of her emotions, and she found it invigorating. She inexorably craved a change, craved air not tasting of sheep and pine and snow.  


Erika didn’t make the decision to leave by herself so much as the decision was made for her. The night of one of Basch’s late night trips to the village nearby, the constant  need to leave the farm’s constraints  could no longer be squelched. It was a scratch too far away to itch and would continue to be until she set off on the open road.

There was  tightness in Erika’s chest as she packed a satchel full of two changes of clothes, a bottle of ink, a quill, her pouch of life’s savings, and the scarf given to her by Basch over a year ago. She wrapped the garment snugly around her neck and realized that she may not be able to come back.

Erika left a note on the kitchen table explaining her situation.

She felt horribly selfish as she shut the cabin door and started down the path. 

Nonetheless,  Erika felt thrilled to be on such open ground, her mind more invigorated than it had ever been with questions and answers and emotions. Her heartbeat was quick, and her footsteps even quicker as she carefully skirted the main road that went into the village. She couldn’t very well let Basch see her.

Erika wondered if she should go back. Perhaps she  _ could  _ give her soul to the Fey and live the rest of her living days with Basch, secure and happy and not upsetting her brother.

The magic in Erika’s veins disagreed.

Erika wondered what kind of revenge the Fey meant, but by the time she had even considered this she had walked to far away from even the village to be able to turn back.  She took a deep breath of cold air, and then let it out in a puff of fear-tinted determination . She tugged her shawl tighter around her shoulders and began the journey to  an unclear destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, this is a really short one, but I suppose this is all it needs to be!! Thank you to everyone who is reading this, I appreciate it lots and lots <3


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